A Special Tradition
by JayColin
Summary: SLASH Clark/Oliver - Clark Kent is in love with Oliver Queen, so he goes to his penthouse the day before Christmas Eve to tell him, but what will he find when he gets there?


A Special Tradition  
>By J.C. Vascardi<p>

Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to the television show Smallville are the property of its creators. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places, and characters that are not featured on the show.

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Chapter One of One

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For the past few months, Clark Kent had been struggling with his feelings for one Oliver Queen. He had considered the blond billionaire to be a friend from almost their very first meeting. Over the past few months, however, Clark had begun to realize that somewhere along the line, he couldn't pinpoint when exactly, his feelings for Oliver had deepened, and now he could finally admit to himself that he was in love. It was a shocking revelation for the brunet, because he had always considered himself to be one hundred percent straight and had never even once looked at a guy in a sexual or romantic way before – but Oliver changed all of that.

Afraid that he'd look like a fool and that he'd lose a good friend, Clark was completely willing to go for the rest of his life loving Oliver from afar and not tell him the truth. However, it would seem the fates had other plans.

"Smallville, what is wrong with you?" Lois asked.

"What?" Clark asked as he looked up. "Nothing is wrong with me, Lois."

"You've never been a good liar," Lois said. "Now spit it out. What's wrong?"

Clark sighed. He really should have known better than to try and lie to his partner. Clark certainly couldn't take all the credit for Lois and him being the top investigative reporting duo on the Planet's staff – in fact, the credit was likely a sixty-forty situation: sixty for Lois and forty for Clark. Of course, if you asked Lois, she'd probably say that all the credit was hers and that she only shared her byline with the Kansas farm boy because their boss insisted upon it.

When Clark didn't say anything, Lois said, "Smallville, spill it before I have to hurt you."

Holding up his hands in surrender, Clark sighed again, before he said, "Okay, fine, Lois. Yes, something is wrong. You were right."

"See? Was that so hard?" Lois asked with a smug look on her face. "Smallville, your life will be a lot easier when you just admit that I'm always right."

"Always right?" Clark asked, as he raised an eyebrow at his colleague. "Need I remind you of the time we were investigating that shell company founded in the Caymans that was buying up land in Granville? You were sure it was Lex behind it and yet I seem to recall it actually being Bruce Wayne."

"Okay, Smallville, so I was wrong once."

"Only once? I can think of a few more times, Lois," Clark said with an amused grin. "Let's see, how about that time that you mistook Oliver for a courier and gave him a tip?"

"Okay, okay, you've made your point, Smallville," Lois said. "But we're not talking about me – we're talking about you. Now spill already."

"Well, the truth is, I'm in love with someone," Clark said and quickly added, "Not Lana," when he say Lois about to say something. "And I don't know how to tell them or even if I should – I'm afraid it could ruin a perfectly good friendship."

"Well, first off, it's about time you got over Lana," Lois said. "Secondly, while I'm flattered, I don't love you, Smallville, and I never will. But, don't worry, we can still be friends."

Clark laughed. "It's not you, Lois."

"Oh," was all Lois said. After a few minutes of silence, she said, "Okay, then, well who is it?"

"Someone that I can't believe I fell for," Clark answered. "So, I've decided not to say anything in order to preserve our friendship."

"Smallville, if you're really friends with this person, you should be honest with them."

Clark shook his head and said, "I don't want to risk losing the friendship though," before mumbling under his breath, "I love him too much."

Clark hadn't meant for Lois to hear that last statement, but hear it she did.

"Him? Smallville, are you telling me that you're in love with a man?"

"Shh! Not so loud, Lois, I don't think they heard you in China!"

"Oh Smallville, grow up – this is the twenty-first century," Lois said. "Nobody cares if you're in love with a man." To prove her point, Lois opened the door to their shared office and shouted out to the reporters and other employees of the Planet, "Clark Kent is in love with a man."

Blushing redder than any red clothing he'd ever owned, Clark wanted to crawl into a hole and die at that moment. However, it wasn't long before he realized that Lois was right. Damn it. While everyone outside their office had looked up when Lois said it, none of them reacted negatively to the news and in fact they all quickly went back to work as if nothing had happened. Her point proven, Lois closed the door and turning to the blushing farm boy, she said, "See? Nobody cares. Now, who is it?"

"I can't believe you just did that," Clark said after a moment as he finally regained control of his voice.

"Well, I did, so get over it," Lois said. "Now, who is it, Smallville? Who are you in love with? Please tell me it isn't Lex."

Looking at Lois with a completely stricken look on his face, Clark said, "What? Lex? Oh no you did not just say that, Lois – I could never love that evil freak! And if by some miracle I realized that I did, I'd kill myself."

"Good, just checking," Lois said. "Now, I repeat, who is it, Smallville? You might as well just tell me, because as I'm sure you well know, I'm not going to let up until you do."

"Fine, Lois. It's Oliver – I'm in love with Oliver."

"And why exactly are you afraid of losing your friendship?"

Clark looked at Lois with a look on his face that quite clearly asked, "Are you crazy?" Clearing his throat, Clark said, "Lois, I mean, this is Oliver – he's the straightest guy I know."

"Really?" Lois asked. "You obviously don't know many straight guys then."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Smallville, Oliver is not straight, he never has been," Lois said.

"But he dated both you and Tess and countless other women," Clark said. "He can't be gay."

"I never said he was," Lois said. "I only said he isn't straight. Smallville, Ollie is bisexual – he's admitted that himself in numerous interviews. If you don't believe me, just go on the internet and Google 'Oliver Queen bisexual' – I guarantee you'll get over a hundred quotes in which he has admitted to being bi and you'll also likely get several pictures of him with ex-boyfriends."

Not believing for a second that Lois was telling the truth because he thought this was just another her egging him on to do something so that she could laugh at him later, Clark stayed right where he was and said, "Yeah, right, Lois. If Oliver is bi then I'm a space alien."

He rather regretted saying that after he said it, but, then it was too late to take it back now. And he was sure that Lois was only kidding, so, he could easily pass of his statement as a joke.

"Well, then, Smallville, I guess you're an alien," Lois said as she sat down at her computer, brought up Google, and did as she had just told Clark to do himself. Looking over his partner's shoulder, Clark paled as he several pictures came up on the screen, not only of Oliver in the arms of various men, but also several magazines with the blond billionaire on the cover, such as a copy of People magazine from June 2003 with the headline, "Oliver Queen: I'm bisexual," splashed across the front.

Struggling to find his voice, Clark said, "Lois, what I said about being an alien, you know I was only kidding right? I mean, I was seriously sure you were only joking, so-"

"Of course, I knew you were kidding, Smallville," Lois said as she stood up. "If you are an alien from another planet than I'm a monkey's uncle."

"I guess you'd better stock up on bananas then," Clark thought to himself, as he said, "So, Oliver is really bisexual?"

"Yes, Clark, as you can clearly see, he is," Lois said as she waved her hand in the direction of her computer screen. "So, now the question is what are you going to do about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't be dense, Smallville," Lois said. "You just told me that you're in love with Oliver, who you just found out is bisexual, so, what are you going to do? You damn well better plan on going to see him and admitting how you feel."

"Lois, I can't just walk into his penthouse and tell him I'm in love with him," Clark said.

"You're right, you can't," Lois agreed. Smiling, she added, "Ring the doorbell first."

When Clark didn't say anything, Lois sighed and looked at her watch. Shutting down her computer, Lois stood, grabbed her coat and purse and said, "Well, Smallville, as fun as this has been, I really have to be going now. I've got places to be and people to see. So, Merry Christmas, and I'll see you at the farm on the 25th."

Clark just nodded and said, "Yeah, sure," in an absentminded tone, as his thoughts swirled around in his head. He couldn't believe it. The man he had fallen in love with, the man that he had resolved to love from afar for fear of ruining their friendship, was actually bisexual. Not only that, but the blond's ex-girlfriend was encouraging him to go and admit his feelings.

The brunet wasn't sure how long he sat there thinking, but eventually he stood up, grabbed his coat, and headed out of the building. He didn't actually need a coat, of course, but considering that there was half a foot of snow on the ground in Metropolis with nightly low temperatures in the mid teens and highs only in the upper twenties, he knew that his co-workers would think he was crazy if he showed up to work with no coat on.

On his way out of the Daily Planet building, Clark smiled as he swiped a sprig of mistletoe from a large wreath near the entrance, knowing that his boss, Editor-in-Chief Perry White, would be upset. He then super-speeded out of the building and arrived at Oliver's penthouse about five seconds later. Entering the penthouse, without ringing the doorbell as Lois had suggested, Clark smiled. Oliver had a small fiber-optic Christmas tree sitting on a small pedestal next to his desk and boy-band 98 Degrees' rendition of God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman was playing in the background.

There was not, however, any sign of Oliver. Deciding to surprise the blond, Clark first checked the first floor and when he saw that nobody was on that floor, he made his way upstairs. Just as he reached Oliver's bedroom door, which was ajar, he froze when he heard the familiar voice of Lois Lane say, "Okay, Ollie, take off your pants."

Clark felt a rush of cold filling him at that moment. Lois had encouraged him to come tell Oliver that he was in love with him and now here she was in his bedroom telling him to remove his pants? What the hell? Tears in his eyes at what he saw as a betrayal of epic proportions, Clark turned to leave without saying a word, so upset that he couldn't even put on a burst of super-speed.

At that moment in the blond's bedroom, however, Lois looked up and caught the retreating form of Clark Kent, his shoulders stooped, in the full-length mirror that faced the door and shouted out, "Clark wait!"

"Clark?" Oliver asked in a confused tone as he watched Lois rush out of his bedroom.

Since he wasn't super-speeding, Lois had no problem catching up to Clark in the hallway. Grabbing his arm and forcing him to turn around, she saw the look on Clark's face and the tears in his eyes, a look that only got worse when he caught sight of what she was wearing. Lois was standing there in a short, black silk robe that stopped several inches above her knees and her legs and feet were completely bare.

"Clark, I know this looks bad, but it's not what you think," Lois said immediately. "I assume you heard me telling Ollie to take off his pants?"

Too upset to speak, Clark simply nodded the hurt and betrayal in his eyes showing so brightly that Lois couldn't help but feel sorry for him and it was in that moment that she truly realized how much her ex-boyfriend meant to the farm boy.

"Trust me, Clark, there is nothing going on between Ollie and me," Lois said as she grabbed his hand and pulled. "Just come back to the bedroom and you'll see for yourself."

Clark wanted to say no and super-speed out of there, but, something deep inside him told him to trust Lois this one time, even though she appeared to have betrayed him in the worst possible way. Letting Lois lead him back towards the blond's bedroom, Clark's eyes widened in surprise as he stepped over the threshold of the room and saw Oliver standing there in a fat suit that made him look like he weighed about four hundred pounds. In his hands, he was holding a pair of red velvet pants which were trimmed in white fur.

"Clark, there's nothing going on between Ollie and me," Lois said. "As you can see, I'm helping Oliver get his costume in order for tomorrow."

"His costume?" Clark asked, completely clueless.

Deciding to join the conversation, Oliver smiled and said, "Well, Clark, I have a Christmas tradition that I've carried on from my father – every year since I turned eighteen I dress up like Santa Claus and visit the local children's hospital to pass out gifts, like my father used to do before he died. I've also started visiting orphanages, because as an orphan myself, I wanted to make sure they all had a good Christmas as well."

At this point Lois said, "Ollie was just trying on the pants for his father's old costume and we noticed that one of the seams had burst, so, I told him to take them off so that I could sew them."

"And why are you half naked?" Clark asked.

Lois smiled. "Well, Clark, Ollie's secretary Celeste usually does it, but she's sick in bed with a cold this year, so, I agreed to step in for her and dress up as Mrs. Claus. I'm dressed like this because I just took off the costume - I tried it on to make sure it fit and just haven't had a chance to get fully dressed."

"Oh," Clark said.

Taking the pants from Oliver, Lois smiled and shook her head. "Ollie, I'll just go sew these. Why don't you go into your dressing room, take off that suit, and then have a chat with Clark. He has something important the he needs to talk to you about."

Oliver simply nodded as he went into his dressing room and closed the door, as Lois patted Clark's shoulder, "Cheer up, Smallville, everything is going to be okay."

Clark watched her leave but didn't say anything, as he just removed his coat and sat down on Oliver's bed. A few minutes later, the blond emerged from his dressing room wearing a pair of hunter green pajama bottoms and nothing else. Walking over, Oliver sat down next to Clark on his bed and said, "What did you need to talk to me about?"

The brunet remained silent for a moment, long enough to prompt Oliver to ask, "Clark?"

"You really dress up like Santa every year?" Clark asked.

Oliver nodded. "Yeah, I do. It was a tradition that my parents started years before I was born. They both felt that as people of means, that it was their duty to insure that those less fortunate had a good Christmas. I suppose most people in their positions would have just written a fat check, but, they preferred the more hands on approach, so dad dressed up like Santa and mom like Mrs. Claus. From the age of six until their deaths, I went with them dressed up like an elf."

Clark smiled. "That is a very nice tradition. So, now you've stepped into your father's shoes and Lois is going to be Mrs. Claus?"

"Yeah," Oliver said with a smile. "As she said, my secretary usually does it, at which point her two kids usually play the elves, but with her sick this year, I convinced Bart and Victor to be my elves instead."

Clark grinned. "Aren't they a bit big to pass for elves?"

"Whoever said that elves had to be short?" Oliver asked in response. "I mean, just look at the first two movies in the "Santa Clause" trilogy. The head elf Bernard is quite a bit taller than all the other elves, but, he's still an elf."

"True," Clark said. "I still can't believe they agreed though."

"Well, it was a tough sell, especially when they saw that their costumes included tights," Oliver said with a grin. "But, they relented and agreed when I said I'd pay them each a thousand dollars an hour."

"Somehow that doesn't really surprise me."

"So, Lois said you had something important to talk to me about," Oliver prompted. "What is it?"

"Well, Oliver, this is kind of hard for me," Clark said. "I've never been good at this type of thing."

"What type of thing?" Oliver asked with an encouraging smile.

"If I wasn't sure before," Clark answered, "I definitely am now after finding out how big of a heart you have. I just hope that there's room in it for... for..."

"For what, Clark?"

"Me," Clark said. "Oliver, I love you."

"You love me?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, Oliver, I'm head over heels in love with you and I hope that I haven't just made a complete fool of myself and ruined our friendship."

The blond remained silent for a moment, speechless, as he comprehended what the brunet had just told him. It took quite a bit to render Oliver Queen speechless, but Clark had just succeeded in doing so, that much was certain. The blond remained quiet for too long, in fact, to the point that Clark sighed dejectedly, stood up, and turned to leave.

"Oliver, just forget I said anything," Clark said. "I hope we can still be friends."

Quickly standing up and grabbing Clark's arm, Oliver turned him around to face him, but Clark's eyes remained firmly pointed towards the ground. Gently grabbing the brunet's chin, Oliver smiled brightly and said, "Clark, I don't want to forget what you just said and I don't want to be friends."

"Oliver, I-" Clark started, but was silenced by the blond's finger on his lips.

"Clark, I want to be so much more than friends with you," Oliver said. "I love you, too, Clark – I've loved you for months now."

"You have?" Clark asked.

"Yeah."

"So, why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, why didn't you say anything?" Oliver asked in response.

"I thought you were straight and I was afraid I'd lose you as a friend."

"You know for a Pulitzer winning investigative reporter," Oliver said, "you really aren't well read, are you?"

Clark grinned. "No, I guess I'm not. Lois told me tonight that you were bisexual and showed me the proof on Google. She encouraged me to come over here, which is why I almost left without saying anything when I heard her tell you to take off your pants and then she came running out of your bedroom half-naked."

"Oh Clark," Oliver said as he leaned forward and rested his forehead against the brunet's. "I'm glad you stayed. As for why I never said anything, well, my reasons were the same as yours. I didn't want to lose you as a friend and you've never given me any inkling that you weren't straighter than my arrows."

"Well, I've always thought of myself as straight, before now," Clark said. "It's just you, Oliver. There's something about you. You're the only guy that I've ever thought of in this way."

"You certainly now how to make a guy feel special," Oliver said with a grin.

"That's because you are special, Ollie," Clark said with a smile as he pulled the sprig of mistletoe from the pocket of his suit jacket and held it over the blond's head. "Ollie, look up."

Oliver looked up and seeing what the brunet was holding over his head, he grinned. Before he could say anything though, Clark's lips were on his and they were soon sharing the first of many passionate kisses. And so that day, the day before Christmas Eve, was just the first o many happy days the two of them would share together as a couple.

The following day, Oliver carried out then Queen family tradition of going to all the children's hospitals and orphanages in Metropolis dressed up as Santa Claus, with Lois at his side as Mrs. Claus, and Bart, Victor, and Clark in tow as elves, and handed out gifts to all the sick and orphaned children. Seeing the happiness of the kids also melted Bart's and Victor's hearts and when the time came for Oliver to pay them for the twelve hours they spent dressed up as elves, they both told him to make the checks payable to charity instead.

And so, on Christmas Day, Clark and Oliver told their friends and family that they were together and just how deliriously happy they were. Chloe and Jimmy smiled and said they were both happy for them and Martha immediately adopted Oliver as her son. Even General Lane, who had come to dinner to be with his daughter admitted that Clark and Oliver made a nice looking couple.

Later that night, as they lay in what was now their bed at the penthouse Clark held Oliver tightly in his arms and kissed the tip of his nose, "I love you, Oliver Queen."

Oliver smiled and said, "I love you, too, Clark Kent. Thank you for making this the best Christmas I've ever had."

"My pleasure, Ollie," Clark said with a smile. "But it's mutual you know, you've also made this the best Christmas I've ever had, too."

Smiling at each other, they kissed passionately, before falling asleep in each other's arms, both exhausted from a day of celebrating not only the Christmas holidays but their new relationship.

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The End


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